Hanuman Ansh Director Says Bollywood Didn’t Help After Shows Were Cut From 250 To 25

Hanuman Ansh's director and co-producer Vishal Chaturvedi has opened up about the difficult start faced by his Neem Karoli Baba film before it emerged as one of the season's biggest sleeper hits. The filmmaker revealed that the film's shows were drastically reduced during its first week, leaving him convinced that his passion project had failed at the box office.

Speaking on The Raunac Podcast, Vishal said the film initially struggled to retain screens as bigger releases arrived in theatres.

Hanuman Ansh shows were reduced to just 25 screens

“People drove this film. Theatres with big films scheduled to release chopped our screen count. From 250, our show count came down to 25. Multiplexes like PVR and Cinepolis in prime locations were skeptical about running our shows,” Vishal said on The Raunac Podcast.

At the end of the first week, he came across an Instagram post that changed his mindset. “Deep down, I had a feeling that my film had tanked. However, at a time like this, the post read, ‘Do your work, I will take care of the rest.’ That weirdly motivated me at the end of the first week,” he recalled.

Vishal then travelled to Surat with lead actor Shobinav Satyaa and music composer Rishi Pathak to promote the film directly. “When they saw the public’s reaction to seeing us—hugging us and crying—the owner was left speechless. That guy started calling other theatres, and the number of shows increased,” he said.

Hanuman Ansh's director says Bollywood did not offer support

The filmmaker also claimed that Bollywood did not come forward when he sought help for the film. “After the film started to do well, several people called me to congratulate me. I don’t want to name them. One of those who congratulated me was Madhur Bhandarkar, whom I had not asked for any support,” Vishal said.

He added that he did not want to name others who later congratulated him because he had previously approached them for support without receiving any.

Hanuman Ansh, made on a reported budget of ₹2 crore, is now nearing the ₹75 crore mark and has witnessed a major jump in its fourth week. According to Vishal, the film is also preparing for an international release.